A funny thing happened on the way to the dinner.......

For those of you who know me, this is going to make you laugh--a lot.

Last Friday night Alex, Devin, Gavin and I were getting ready for the Kainos Annual Dinner.  It's about 175 people in the room, all members of the "choir" if you will.  This is staff, donors, volunteers and supporters of a fabulous organization which provides vocational training and support as well as group living situations for developmentally disabled adults.  We volunteer there, and on Friday I was tasked with presenting a new fundraising campaign to this room of folks-many of whom I know well and all of whom are already supporters of Kainos.

I had been trying to put together what I was going to say for a couple of days, and had been unable to come up with something I liked.  Alex tried to help--he is amazing with coming up with catchy phrases and apt things to say to folks, but I just wasn't really feeling any of it.  I made notes.  Then I wrote out a whole speech.  None of it was quite right.

So then it was Friday evening, I came running in the door after work, started getting dressed, and Alex and I were going over all of the things I COULD say.  This is the part where it gets funny.

I was nervous.  I'm never nervous speaking in public--it may be one of my more irritating qualities.  I am often nervous when I have to do one on one conversations, especially if they are uncomfortable.  I can't remember the last time I was so nervous I couldn't put a sentence together, though, until last Friday night.

I had some notes, I knew what I needed to say, but I just didn't know what I was going to say until the moment I got to the podium.

Alex was (understandably) worried.  The boys thought it was sort of funny.

I did it though.  Got up there and spoke--supposedly pretty well.  I cracked a joke (a little bit I threw Alex under the bus, because when we left the house Alex said "Just don't make me look dumb, okay?") it drew a pretty good laugh.

I came up with two sayings today that seem to apply:

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."  Eleanor Roosevelt
"Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those doing it."  Chinese proverb

Neither fits perfectly, but they do go along with my theory in life--the answer most often lies in forward motion, even when you've got the direction wrong.

Good night all--I hope your week goes well.